Door lock

ABSTRACT

A lock for use with a door having a latch which is adapted to be received in a notch located in the door frame can be utilized either as a permanently-installed lock or as a portable lock that can easily be moved to various locations. A planar member is adapted to be disposed between the door frame and the door when the latter is in closed position. A laterally extending tab is disposed at a right angle to the planar member and is adapted to be received in the notch. A pair of slots in the member are mirror images of each other and diverge away from a divider element that lies in a horizontal plane passing through the tab. Each slot is configured to present a plurality of seats for receiving a keeper pin adjacent the door, when the latter is closed, to present a dead bolt lock. By simply turning the member 180° the lock can accommodate either a left or right-hand opening door with the opposite slot being utilized for each position of the member. A housing is normally disposed in the notch of a door frame and is permanently secured to the frame by a pair of fasteners. The planar member has a pair of arms which are adapted to be disposed on either side of the notch and by removing the housing and inserting the fasteners through appropriate openings in the aforementioned arms, the lock apparatus may be permanently mounted on the door frame.

This invention relates to door locks generally and, more particularly,to apparatus which can be temporarily installed and moved from onelocation to another to present a positive dead bolt lock or installedpermanently on a door frame to present such a lock.

While bolt action locks fastened to the outside of a door have long beenknown as the surest way of locking a door from the inside, locks of thistype have not been widely used in modern construction because of theirunattractive appearance. There has, therefore, been a great need for alock having the security advantages of a bolt action lock but which doesnot detract from the appearance of a door on which the lock is located.

Another long recognized need in the field of door locks has been a lockwhich could be easily moved from one location to another for use inhomes and businesses as well as hotels and motels where satisfactorydoor locks are often lacking.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparatusfor locking a door which incorporates the positive locking feature of abolt action lock without detracting from the appearance of the door.

Another very important object of this invention is to provide lockapparatus for a door which can be permanently mounted on the door frameto replace the housing that is normally disposed in the notch for thedoor latch.

As a corollary to the above object, one of the aims of the invention isto provide a lock apparatus which can be temporarily installed on a doorand moved to another location without the need for removing anyfasteners or the like, whereby the lock is completely portable.

It is also one of the aims of my invention to provide lock apparatuswhich can be permanently installed on the door frame and which includesan element that presents a follower surface for the door latch topreclude any possibility of the latch catching on the lock structure.

Still another one of the objectives of the present invention is toprovide a lock apparatus for doors wherein the apparatus can bepermanently installed on the door frame in place of the housing which isnormally disposed in the notch for the door latch and, wherein theapparatus does not project from the door frame any substantial amountbeyond the normal latch housing.

A further objective of this invention is to provide lock apparatus fordoors which can be either permanently installed or completely portableand wherein the apparatus includes a pair of locking slots which aremirror images of each other to permit the apparatus to be utilized oneither right-hand or left-hand opening doors.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door and door frame withthe lock apparatus of the present invention installed thereon;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the planar member which forms a part of thelock apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view taken from one end of the member shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the planar member which formsa part of the locking apparatus as it would appear permanently installedon the frame of a right-hand opening door;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through the door and doorframe illustrating the lock apparatus in place;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner in whichthe lock apparatus replaces the housing normally found on the doorframe; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the keeper pin which functionsas a dead bolt lock in the apparatus of the invention.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 5, the lock apparatus of the presentinvention is designated generally by the numeral 10 and is showninstalled for use with a door 12 having a latch 14. The latch 14 isnormally received in a notch 16 in a door frame 18 when door 12 isclosed. The door frame 18 includes a door jamb 20 against which door 12is disposed when closed and a strip of molding 22 on the inside of thedoor frame for aesthetic purposes. Latch 14 is normally biased into itsextended position by appropriate spring means (not shown) and is movedto a retracted position within the door by turning of a doorknob 24.

The lock apparatus 10 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2-4 andincludes a generally planar member 26 having a laterally extending tabstructure 28 projecting therefrom at a right angle. The tab structure 28is adapted to be received within notch 16 as clearly illustrated in FIG.5. On either side of tab structure 28 are a pair of arms 30 which lieadjacent notch 16 when the tab structure is disposed within the notch.Each of the elements 30 has an aperture 32 (FIG. 2) therethrough forpurposes to be made clear hereinafter.

A pair of slots 34 and 36 in member 26 are disposed in spacedrelationship to tab structure 28. As best illustrated in FIG. 4, slots34 and 36 are mirror images of each other and lie on opposite sides ofan imaginary horizontal plane which bisects tab structure 28 when thelatter is disposed in notch 16. A divider element 38 separates slots 34and 36 and lies in the aforementioned imaginary horizontal plane. It isto be noted that the slots 34 and 36 diverge away from divider element38 in a broken V configuration with the element 38 intersecting the apexof the broken V. Each of slots 34 and 36 has one edge comprised of aseries of curvilinear lines that present a plurality of seats 40 and 41in each of the slots respectively. In communication with slots 34 and 36adjacent divider element 38 are a pair of generally circular openings 42and 44 which are of a slightly larger diameter than the diameter ofseats 40 and 41.

At the end of planar member 26 which is opposite the tab structure 28 achamfer 46 is disposed in perpendicular relationship to divider element38. Chamfer 46 presents a camming surface for latch 14 which moves thelatch inwardly against the action of its biasing springs to permit thelatch to clear the planar member. To this end, divider element 38 whichis integral with chamfer 46 presents a follower surface that merges intothe camming surface presented by the chamfer so that latch 14 will moveuninterrupted along planar member 26 with no danger of the latchcatching on the edges of slots 34 and 36.

A keeper pin 48 is illustrated in FIG. 7 and is coupled with planarmember 26 by a chain 50 which passes through an appropriate aperture 52in the pin and also extends through a loop 54 (FIG. 2) on the side ofmember 26 which is opposite tab structure 28. Keeper pin 48 comprises anelongated cylinder bolt 56 having a knurled outer surface and a head 58of a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of bolt 56. Head 58extends outwardly from the end of bolt 56 and the space between the headand the bolt presents a channel 60.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, door frame 18 normally includes a housing 62disposed in notch 16 and having a chamfer 64 which presents a cammingsurface for latch 14. The housing 62 is permanently secured to frame 18by a pair of fasteners such as screws 66. When the lock apparatus 10 ofthe present invention is to be permanently installed on a door frame,screws 66 may be removed to free housing 62 and the latter replaced byplanar member 26. Thus, screws 66 can be inserted through apertures 32to permanently mount member 26 as best illustrated in FIG. 5.

With member 26 permanently installed on the door frame, door 12 may beopened and closed in the usual manner without interference from the lockapparatus. It is to be noted that planar member 26 projects beyond thedoor frame a distance approximately equivalent to the distance whichchamber 64 on housing 62 would normally project, and thus the lockapparatus presents no hazards extending beyond the door frame asubstantial distance. It is also a desirable feature of the inventionthat divider 38 and chamfer 46 cooperate to provide a continuous surfacewhich latch 14 may slide along with no obstruction from the lockapparatus.

Keeper pin 48 is normally chained to member 26 and allowed to hang atthe side of the door frame when lock apparatus 10 is not in use. Whendoor 12 is closed against jamb 20 and it is desired to positively lockthe door, the head of keeper pin 48 is inserted into the appropriatelower-most opening 42 or 44 and moved into the respective slot 34 or 36with channel 60 in the keeper pin guiding movement of the latter. Thekeeper pin is placed in the appropriate seat adjacent door 12 so thatthe pin is contiguous with the door as best illustrated in FIG. 5.

With pin 48 disposed as illustrated in FIG. 5, cylinder bolt 56 presentsa positive "dead bolt" lock which cannot be forced or manipulated fromthe outside of the door. It is to be understood that the term "deadbolt" refers to the fact that bolt 48 cannot be removed except by thepositive action of a person lifting it out of its seat and removing itfrom the appropriate slot which must be done from the inside of thedoor. The fact that head 58 is received on one side of member 26 and theend of cylinder bolt 56 abuts the opposite side of the member withchannel 60 actually being received in the appropriate seat, absolutelyprecludes any form of jarring or vibrating action from causing the boltto fall from the slot.

It is of course normally desired to have keeper pin 48 disposed in thelowermost slot of member 26 such that any jarring or vibrating actionwill tend to move the pin downwardly against door 12 rather than awayfrom the door as would be the case if the keeper pin were placed in theuppermost slot. Thus, it is desirable to have slots 34 and 36constructed as mirror images of each other so that the lock apparatuscan be used with either right-hand or left-hand opening doors by simplyrotating member 26 180° and always utilizing the lowermost slot.

When lock apparatus 10 is to be temporarily installed and moved from onelocation to another, tab structure 28 is inserted in the opening inhousing 62 which overlies notch 16 and planar member 26 is held in placeuntil door 12 is closed. Keeper pin 48 can then be moved into theappropriate slot as previously explained. Because of the positive "deadbolt" locking action of the keeper pin, door 12 cannot be opened fromthe outside even though member 26 is not permanently secured to the doorframe. Thus, the locking apparatus can be quickly dismantled andutilized at a different location without the need to undo screws such as66 or the like.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certainvariations in the construction of the lock apparatus 10 can beaccommodated without departing from the present invention. For example,slots 34 and 36 could be disposed in diverging relationship withopenings 42 and 44 located at the distal ends of the slots rather thanthe adjacent ends as shown in the drawing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:
 1. Lock apparatus for use with adoor having a latch adapted to be received in a notch located in thedoor frame, said apparatus comprising:a planar member adapted to bedisposed between the door and the frame; structure extending laterallyfrom the planar member and adapted to be received in said notch whensaid member is placed between the frame and the door, said member havinga pair of slots therein disposed in diverging relationship to ahorizontal plane passing through said structure when the latter isreceived in the notch, said member including a divider element lying insaid horizontal plane for separating said slots one from the other; eachof said slots having at least one edge thereof configured to present aplurality of seats along the edge of the slot; and keeper means adaptedto be received in one of said slots when said member is disposed betweenthe door and the frame with the keeper means received in the seatadjacent the door whereby said keeper means presents a dead bolt lock topreclude opening of the door.
 2. The invention of claim 1, wherein saidmember includes a chamfer generally perpendicular to said horizontalplane at the end of the member opposite said structure, said chamferpresenting a camming surface for the door latch prior to the latterbeing received in said notch.
 3. The invention of claim 2, wherein isincluded means for permanently mounting said member on said frame withsaid structure disposed in said notch.
 4. The invention of claim 3,wherein each of said slots is a mirror image of the other slot wherebythe apparatus can be utilized with either right or left-hand openingdoors by rotating said member 180° and placing said keeper means in theopposite slot.
 5. The invention of claim 1, said apparatus being adaptedfor use with a door frame having a housing complemental to said notchand secured by a pair of fasteners passing therethrough, said membercomprising:a pair of arms adapted to be disposed on either side of saidnotch, with an opening in each arm for placement of one of saidfasteners, whereby said housing can be removed and replaced with saidmember mounted on said frame. .Iadd.
 6. Lock apparatus for use with adoor having a latch adapted to be received in a notch in the door frame,said apparatus comprising: a planar member adapted to be disposedbetween the door and the frame; said member having a pair of slotstherein disposed in diverging relationship to a horizontal plane passingthrough said structure when the latter is disposed between the door andthe frame; said member including a divider element lying in saidhorizontal plane for separating said slots one from the other; each ofsaid slots having at least one edge thereof configured to present aplurality of seats along the edge of the slot; means for mounting saidmember on said frame; and keeper means adapted to be received in one ofsaid slots when said member is disposed between the door and the framewith the keeper means received in the seat adjacent the door wherebysaid keeper means presents a dead bolt lock to preclude opening of thedoor. .Iaddend..Iadd.
 7. The invention of claim 6, wherein each of saidslots is a mirror image of the other slot whereby the apparatus can beutilized with either right or left-hand opening doors by rotating saidmember 180° and placing said keeper means in the opposite slot..Iaddend. .Iadd.
 8. The invention of claim 6, said apparatus beingadapted for use with a door frame having a housing complemental to saidnotch and secured by a pair of fasteners passing therethrough, saidmember comprising: a pair of arms adapted to be disposed on either sideof said notch, with an opening in each arm for placement of one of saidfasteners, whereby said housing can be removed and replaced with saidmember mounted on said frame. .Iaddend.